


A Little Lad

by linearhappiness



Series: The Great Sealand Takeover Spin-offs [5]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Angst, Fake AH Crew, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Light BDSM, Mentions of Sex, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-05-12 11:30:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5664523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/linearhappiness/pseuds/linearhappiness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geoff and Ryan are trying to balance their relationship.<br/>Ray gets caught up in the grown-up storm.<br/>The previous part is instrumental in figuring out what's going on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mare

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Great Sealand Takeover](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2136012) by [whalehuntingboyfriends](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whalehuntingboyfriends/pseuds/whalehuntingboyfriends). 



*** 2 month ago ***

The conference room was empty. Ryan checked the time to confirm that the meeting was supposed to start already. He went to the adjacent room that Geoff used as his private office.

Geoff stood up from his ritzy leather chair. “There you are.”

“Was the meeting postponed?”

“I canceled it.”

“You didn’t text me.”

“I did not.” Geoff looked him up and down, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

Ryan twisted an eyebrow. He walked up to Geoff, cupped his cheek and kissed him.

Geoff only pecked him on the lips. “No.” Geoff caught Ryan’s hand and put it behind his back, turning them around, pressing Ryan to the table. One make out session later, he said, “Let’s go home.”

When they got to Ryan’s car and the man made a move to the driver’s side, Geoff stopped him again. “Give me your keys.”

He drove them out of the underground parking lot. “Touch yourself.”

At the security outpost by the house, Geoff lowered the blackout window on his side and stuck his head out like a dog, trying not to distract the man. The gate opened.

Geoff parked and turned to Ryan, enjoying the view. “You’ve arrived at your destination”, he whispered in the man’s ear. Ryan smiled and started zipping up his pants. Geoff got out of the car, walked around it and opened the door for him. “Go to my bedroom and take your clothes off. Leave the boxers.”

***

They took quite a journey from Geoff tentatively asking to fuck Ryan, to realizing he used to be a perfect top, to regretting he bought a house without a basement. Well, they weren’t really at the basement stuff yet, but Geoff suddenly found himself full of ideas. He had some experience – with Jack, and with other guys before him, more as a sub, than not. He was never too into the technical side of the play, and he still wasn’t.  His and Ryan’s play was fueled by the complicated dynamic of their relationship.

He untied Ryan’s wrists from his legs, pulled his cut boxers off, turned him around and helped him move to the head of the bed. Ryan seemed to be completely out of it. Geoff’s own head was swimming. It was the first time he managed to get Ryan from playing along to actually losing control. He wrapped his arms around the man, thinking about the little diamond he just added to his wank bank.

“Are you ok?” He brushed Ryan’s cheek.

“I’m so… high…”

Geoff scoffed, amused. He thought it would be a lot harder to get him there.

_Jack would kill me if he knew._

Jack always forced him to communicate. He put Geoff through a grueling set of lectures and got him to answer a hundred questions before they started.

Geoff wasn’t big on discussions, Ryan even more so. The man seemed to know what was what, so Geoff felt like they didn’t have to talk everything through, not yet. But Ryan’s reaction was a big surprise and there weren’t supposed to be any.

Geoff turned the man to his side and started kissing him, melting into his mellow touch. He wasn’t leading anywhere, this was just supposed to promote continuous release of oxytocin and ease their return to the realm of the living. He pulled away after a while, feeling kind of excited again, but Ryan didn’t even open his eyes.

Geoff let him stay like that for another twenty minutes.

“Are you sleeping?”

“I don’t… think so...”

Geoff got legitimately worried. “Let’s put clothes on and grab something to eat.” He gently turned Ryan’s face to him. “Ry, I hate to spoil it, but you really need to wake up now.” He patted the man’s cheeks.

Ryan groaned. “Okay… okay.”

***

Geoff made some sandwiches and poured two glasses of orange juice. He sat as close to Ryan as possible and unglued the man from the kitchen table. Ryan took a glass, leaning heavily on his elbow.

“Are you still high?”

“Coming down.”

Geoff nodded. He was preparing a speech, but Ryan interrupted him.

“That thing when you tie someone up and leave them… I don’t like it.”

“I wasn’t going to leave you. I was giving you a moment to rest.”

“Just so you know.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

Ryan smiled. “Yes. I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Was that your first time?”

“When I was on vacation in Italy, I met a girl. She wanted more than a one night stand from me, and she wasn’t put off by my sunny personality. I stayed there longer than I planned to. We tried a lot, but I was always… directing.”

Geoff lost a bet. Gavin told him that Ryan was definitely bi, but he didn’t think so himself before now. They decided it would be more fun not to ask and Ryan talked so little about his past that it stayed a mystery for months.

“Ry, I’m sorry we didn’t talk limits or anything. I thought it was too early. I didn’t expect a reaction this strong.”

“Neither did I.” Ryan flinched. ”Fuck, it’s not cold in here, is it?”

“That’s just your body readjusting to the normal level of endorphins.”

“I know.”

***

Ray came home to a bizarre picture of Geoff on the living room couch, with Ryan basically on his lap. Ryan’s ass was on the pillow, but his legs were over Geoff’s, his head was on Geoff’s  shoulder and he was wrapped in a blanket.

“Oh, hey, Ray, take my place.” Geoff started getting up. Ryan gripped his shirt. “I’ll be right back.” Geoff went to the kitchen.

Ray sat next to the man and pulled him into a hug. Ryan was shivering. “Are you sick?”

“He’s got food poisoning.” Geoff yelled.

That kind of seemed like bullshit. Ray pressed his lips to Ryan’s forehead. It was cold. He took Ryan’s hand and noticed a rash on his wrist. He frowned.

Geoff quickly returned with a thermos full of hot tea and grabbed Ryan’s blanket. “I’ll move him closer to a bathroom… you know, puking and stuff.” Ray caught a glimpse of an ass crack when Geoff was pulling the man up and frowned more, trying to figure out why Ryan didn’t have underwear on. Then he noticed the same rash on Ryan’s other wrist and realized that it was a rope burn. His eyes widened.

“Wow”, he said to himself as Geoff was taking Ryan upstairs.

***

The next day, Ryan woke up in Geoff’s bedroom. Geoff was sprinkling water on him.

“Stop it.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Kind of… hung over.” Ryan rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Half past nine.”

“Did you turn off my alarm?”

“Might have.”

Ryan threw the covers off of him and stared at the silk pajamas he was wearing. “Are these yours?”

“Might be.”

Ryan looked around and noticed a tray with some coffee, juice, pancakes, berries and a little fucking vase with a flower. “Enjoying yourself?”

“Immensely. Not as much as I will when you’ll let me feed you the strawberries, though.” Geoff grinned.

“I’m going to the shower.”

“Want some help?”

“No!” Ryan closed the door and smiled.

***

He felt so tired that he sat down in the shower. The payback for yesterday was vicious. His arms felt heavy when he washed his hair. He tried to snap out of it and did some pushups, but it made him even more unsteady and he almost fell while putting the pajamas back on.

“Come here.” Geoff patted the bed.

Ryan chuckled. “Tempting, but it would be better if I pulled myself together and went to the office.”

“It would be, if the alternative was laying in bed by yourself. Besides, you are not cleared for field work, even if there was any.”

Ryan was in no condition to fight, that much was true.

“Ry, everything is as calm as can be. Ray and Michael are supervising storage reorganization. I can’t tell you what Jack’s trip is about without spoiling the surprise, but trust me, it’s not even work-related. Gav is nerding away improving his system.”

“Where did he sleep last night?”

“At the office.”

“You mean he didn’t sleep at all. I told him that’s not a good idea.”

“No, Lindsay said he actually dozed off in the rest room for a while.”

“Still.”

“I already told him to come home tonight. Give up. You’re mine for the rest of the day.”

Ryan climbed on the bed and fell on his side of it, face down.

***

Geoff stayed wound up since yesterday. Every time he recalled Ryan begging, he got hard. He went to the bathroom in the middle of the night to jerk off. Now that they were going at it again, he couldn’t help but ask.

“Are you up for a little sex?”

“A little?”

“No ties, no toys, no teasing… “

“Yes.” Ryan easily slipped into his previous barely conscious state.

Geoff was as gentle as he could be.

***

They were on a blow-up mattress, floating in the pool, sipping Margaritas, eyes covered with sunglasses.

“So, you think this is swimming.” Ryan pushed them away from the edge with his foot.

“You don’t like it?”

Ryan felt like answering that would be redundant. Not once in his life he felt as happy as he did at the moment. When he lowered his sunglasses, he saw the green lawn territory the size of a golf field and a mansion in the distance, lit up with the sun. They’ve certainly created a paradise for themselves.

***

Ryan sat on the living room floor, in front of the couch. Geoff’s legs were on both sides of him as Geoff was rubbing his back. A movie they both ignored was playing.

“Are you trying to use my monkey brain to make me more attached to you?” Ryan asked, giving into the touch.

Geoff lowered his head to the man’s ear. “Is it working?”

Ray and Michael came in with food. Ryan stood up. “Pizza?”

“Yeah, and some chicken soup and crackers for you.” Ray handed him a paper bag.

Geoff withheld a smile.

Michael put a hand on Ryan’s waist. “How are you? You look weird.”

“I’m ok.” Ryan kissed him. “Where’s Gav?”

“Still at the office.”

Ryan took his phone and went outside.

“Hey! You called!”

“Hey. Gav, please come home.”

Gavin stopped typing. “Home… Not ‘the house’?”

Ryan just caught himself saying that too. “I guess.”

“How are you feeling? Michael said you got sick… Sorry I wasn’t there.”

“I’m ok.”

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“Are you guys having dinner?

“Yeah.”

“I’m running late… Can I stay with you tonight? Just the two of us?”

“Sure.”

The promise made Ryan feel a little uneasy. He took his soup, excused himself and went upstairs. Soon Geoff went up too with two pizza slices on his plate. His bedroom was empty and he went to check Ryan’s. The man was sitting on the bed, thoughtful.

“That’s for you.” Geoff handed him the pizza.

“Thanks.” Ryan put the plate on the coffee table.

“It’s good!” Geoff sat next to Ryan and wrapped his arms around him. “How are you feeling?”

_Surreal? Weak? Unwilling to be separated from you?_ Ryan didn’t like the answers that came to mind. “Like I want to crawl into your pocket and live there.”

Geoff laughed.

Ryan smiled too. “Is it funny, though? Gav asked for a private audience and a part of me wasn’t happy about that.”

“I’ll ask him if I can join.”

Ryan shook his head.

“Baby, you need to stay with me.”

_Baby?_ “No. I’m sure Ray and Michael miss you too.”

Geoff growled.

“You see what kind of problems we end up having when there’s no real work?”

Geoff chuckled. “That’s a good thing. Besides, it never stays quiet for long.”

***

Gavin got to the house really late. He went to Ryan’s bedroom, illuminating the path with his phone. He found the man already sleeping. He debated letting him rest, but then woke him up.

“Ry…” He ran his hands over the man’s shoulders.

“Hi.”

Gavin bent down to press their lips together.  He took off his clothes and got into the bed, eagerly kissing the man. His hand slipped into Ryan’s boxers. He paused, disappointed for a moment, and pulled away.

“Sorry… you are still sick, aren’t you?” Ryan wished the ground would open under him. “Sorry.” Gavin put a hand on Ryan’s face. “Who took care of you?”

“Geoff.”

Gavin scoffed. “Of course he did. I mean… I’m glad that he did.”

Gavin rolled to his back. “It’s so weird.”

“What is?”

“You and Geoff were wary of each other for the longest time. Now you both seem… fascinated.”

Ryan didn’t know what to say.

“What’s it like between the two of you?”

It took Ryan some time to collect his thoughts. Gavin fell half-asleep and twitched when Ryan started talking.

“I’ve been caught up in this image of myself for as long as I can remember. Other countries, people who knew nothing about me… none of that changed the disposition. I was stuck with that image. Geoff makes me… escape it.”

Gavin shifted.

“What gets uncovered… is rather unfamiliar to me.”

“Are you comfortable with that?”

“Of course not. Who would be?”

“Is it like… learning to walk again, but with people?”

“Yes, it’s exactly like learning to walk again, but with people.”

“So… Geoff is your Ryan?”

“You have to help me with that one.”

“He helps you figure things out?”

“I guess.”

_But I want to be your Ryan._ Gavin stopped himself before pulling them into a moronic conversation. “I didn’t expect you to answer any of that.”

***

Ryan was enjoying a double blow job from Geoff and Gavin. He was about to come when he got cut off again.

“Please, continue… This is agonizing…”

Geoff smiled and started tying him to the bed. Gavin put a blindfold and a ball gag on him. He got deprived of his ability to move, see and talk.

Then they just left. He heard them flirting with each other, voices slowly fading away.

Suddenly, all he could hear was heavy breathing next to him. He had no way of knowing who it was coming from. It was freaking him out. He felt someone climb on him and sit on his chest. He started trying to shake the weight off. It didn’t work. He yelled, but no sound came out, and he was left with the feeling of his rib cage caving in.

Then he woke up. The pain in his chest was still there. He turned to Gavin and saw him shake and choke in his sleep. He made a move to comfort him.

_I can’t do this. I can’t do this right now._

He got out of the bed and pressed his back to the wall. He put on his pants, grabbed his phone and ran out.

**Ryan: Ray, pls check on Gavvin nw.**


	2. Reckless

*** 2 month later ***

In the cold light of morning, the city looked particularly depressing. It was full of buildings tagged with lousy graffiti, closed shops and gloomy strangers crawling into dirty buses. Ray stared at it through the car window as Ryan was driving them home. They stopped at the gate. Ray snapped out of his stupor for a moment and greeted the security team.

He helped to unload the car and went to the house to talk to Geoff.

“Hey, buddy, how did everything go?”

“I’m not working with Ryan anymore.”

“Ray?”

He turned around and dragged his feet to his room, only to find Ryan lingering at the door. “What’s wrong?”

He took the man’s hand and pulled him inside.

***

Jack wanted the master bedroom to never be empty. He felt like being there meant being with all of them. In reality, their relationship was mostly developing through 15 different combinations of pairs. And yet, when he was working at home, he preferred to do it in the master bedroom. Geoff often joined him and sat on the bed with his laptop. Ray came in a lot with his DS.

“Ten minutes ago, Ray storms in and tells me he’s not working with Ryan anymore.”

Jack looked up at Geoff, who was standing behind his screen now. “Did he explain?”

“Nope”, Geoff jumped on the bed. “So, I give him a moment to calm down. Then I go to his room only to find out that they’re fucking now, apparently. Or is Michael here?”

“He’s out. Why do you think they’re fucking, though?”

“The door’s closed and I heard an ‘Aaah…’.”

“Maybe he’s just… you know.”

“Well, that’s not all I heard, and unless he’s slapping himself on the ass in the process, I don’t think so.”

Jack chuckled. “You figured they had a fight?”

Geoff nodded and sighed.

“That’s unprofessional and not like him at all.”

“I’ve fired people for shit like that. Sometimes I hate being a boyfriend and a boss. When Michael ruins negotiations with his god damn temper, or when Ryan doesn’t share information…”

“Well, technically, he doesn’t have to. He’s not exactly your employee.”

“Oh, I know.” Geoff remembered the annoyance he felt when he realized he couldn’t afford to hire Ryan full-time. He calculated the man’s salary the way he usually did, based on average cost of his jobs plus 20% he added to keep the crew extra happy. Even without the bonus, paying him that kind of money would’ve affected Geoff’s whole fucking business. Ryan saved him the embarrassment and came up with a very modest offer – to get a percentage of profits from projects he was involved in. “I’ll never have control over him, will I?”

“You have some. We all have some. But as a boss? No.” Geoff gritted his teeth. “Maybe in bed, though.”

Geoff felt uncomfortable. The kinky sex play he and Ryan had hit an abrupt end after a couple weeks, before they shared it with their boyfriends.  His further attempts were politely shut down and he kept wondering if he did something wrong. Ryan became distant suddenly. Now Geoff knew that the man had other stuff going on, but he was definitely left hanging, with no idea if they’d ever do it again.

***

Geoff was making a stir-fry. He detected Ray opening the fridge with his peripheral vision.

“Is your lovers quarrel over?”

“What?” Ray asked, holding a can of cream soda.

“Are you ready to work with Ryan?”

“No, I’m not.”

“I heard you guys make up.” Geoff put a handful of chopped vegetables in a pan.

“You think I’ve decided this because we had a fight? What am I, a teenager?”

Geoff smiled a bit. “Ray, what the fuck is going on?”

“It’s like watching someone stick their head in a helicopter rotor. Repeatedly.”

“What?”

“Dude’s reckless.” Ray stared at Geoff.

“I know he seems to be…”

“He doesn’t seem to be, he is. And you don’t really know. None of you know. You’ve been sending me off with him from the start.”

Geoff moved the pan to a cold burner.

“The shit he pulled always seemed insane to me. But I thought – it’s Ryan, right? He’s just operating on a different level. He knows what he’s doing.”

Geoff almost said _He does_ , but he knew better by now.

“Living with Gavin? Doesn’t seem like a good idea. Well, if he thinks he can take it, ok. Leaving the mask on, connecting the mad mercenary to the crew? Does he think he’s so scary that he doesn’t have to hide anymore? Well, maybe he is. We all just assume he’s incapable of making a mistake.”

“Ray…”

“He became a little more careful after we got together. And then he became a lot less careful. I thought he was honing his skills, taking another step closer to being Batman. But that’s not it. He just thinks that if he dies, it might be for the best.”

Geoff threw the spatula he was holding into the sink.

“He’s a person too, you know? And so are you. You’ve been keeping the issue at arm’s length by pairing me with him, weather you realize it or not.”

It hurt to admit. “I feel like you’ve aged ten years since we met”, Geoff said quietly.

“I hang out with old people now.”

Geoff didn’t even smile. “I get what you’re saying. I really do. But who do you want me to replace you with? Jack? Myself?”

“Dan?”

“He’s not in the country right now. In any case, you are the best candidate for the job of keeping Ry safe.”

Ray looked away. “I’m not. Thank you, but I’m not.”

Geoff raised his hands. “Why?”

“Cause I almost shot him today!!” Ray put the can on the table forcefully. The soda bubbled up and it turned into a fountain.

Geoff put a kitchen napkin on it, containing the flow. “You did what?”

“There was a dog…”

“Ray, concentrate.” Geoff grabbed the man’s shoulder.

“I got to the roof and I had a clean shot. I told Ryan he could get closer now. He moved and ran into a guarding dog. He paused before killing it, and it barked. The guys scattered and took cover. I could still get two of them, so I did, but the others were out of reach. I told him to retreat, and he said, I quote, _No_.”

“He ran to another shipping container and took out a guy. I watched him throw a fucking grenade back. He ran to the next container, and they were all shooting at him, I don’t know how they missed him. Three more guys down.  He did it again and I saw a bullet graze his mask. Then he was standing there, reloading, and I thought – he’ll die. Right here, right now.”

“I was going to shoot him in the thigh, the way Edgar’s man shot me. I knew I could get them all as soon as they got closer to Ry. It made fucking perfect sense to me. I just couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger. But I don’t know what I’m going to do next time.”

Ray looked in Geoff’s eyes. The man’s grip on his arm was painful now.

_Is that it? Will he break up with me?_

The silence seemed to last forever. Ray distracted himself by counting the drops of soda falling on the floor.

Geoff let go of Ray’s shoulder . “You should’ve done it.”

“What??”

“You heard me.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously, you should’ve done it.”

“What if I missed?”

“Since when do you miss?”

“Since I’m shooting someone I love? Jesus Christ, Geoff, he’s crazy and it’s contagious.”

“I want you to do it.”

“Now is not the time! We need him! We need fucking everyone we have!”

Jack and Ryan went into the kitchen.

“Are we interrupting something?” Jack asked.

Ray looked lost.

“Yeah, you are.” Geoff smiled.

“Do you want us to go?”

“Nah, it’s ok.”

***

That night, Geoff woke Ray up.

“Do it. Incapacitate him.”

“Geoff, what the fuck…”

“I’ve planned everything out. We can manage without him.”

“It was just a thought I got, caught up in the fucking moment!”

“Well, now it’s not.”

“I wish I never told you.”

Geoff dropped his head.

“Come here.” Ray lifted up the covers.

Geoff crawled in, put his head on the pillow and closed his eyes.

“Do it.” He repeated.


	3. A miserable month

“How is he?” Geoff asked Miles when he got out of the operating room.

“Stable.”

“Did I put the tourniquets on correctly?”

“Yes.”

“Was he in pain?”

Miles raised his eyebrows. “No. Your shot knocked him right out.”

“Did it interfere with the anesthesia?”

“No.”

“Was there something else I could do for him before he got here?”

Miles shook his head.

“Will he fully recover?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. It’ll take some time, though.”

“How much time?”

“About ten weeks till he can start physical therapy. And then five more.”

“Okay, good.”

Miles was really confused.

“What were the chances of him dying?”

“Um… slim?”

“I need a percentage.”

“Like five percent?”

“Five percent… Okay.”

“Geoff, why am I even treating this guy?”

“Cause you know better than to ask questions.”

Miles frowned.

“Give me a lethal dosage of something and get your team out of there.”

The doctor’s eyes widened, but he gave a slow nod.

“And Miles… you’re getting a raise.”

***

Several days later, Ryan was walking to the office. He stopped in front of the camera to wave at Gavin. Gavin didn’t see that, he was at Geoff’s. He told the man that the video feed from one of his checkpoints in the area turned off. Geoff sent Ray to find out what happened. Ryan got shot. A bullet went through the front of both his thighs and he fell on the pavement.

***

They all were at the waiting room of the clinic. Jack was holding Ray, who seemed to be losing it. Geoff stood up from his chair, went to them and took Ray’s hand.

“Baby, let’s take a walk.”

He dragged Ray to the bathroom.

“What have I done?”

“We did what we had to.” Geoff hugged the man.

“I watched him fall… What if he hurt his head again, I didn’t think about that…”

“He’ll be okay. You did everything right. Perfectly right. You are amazing.”

“It’s not just Ry… Didn’t you see Gavin’s face?”

Geoff tilted Ray’s head up.

“Six month from now, all this will be over, and we’ll go to the house in Switzerland Jack bought for a white Christmas, and Ryan will be there with us, skiing and drinking eggnog. And if we didn’t do this, we’d be at his fucking funeral before then.”

***

Ryan woke up and saw Geoff at the desk by the window, staring at the screen. He felt like he’d seen this picture before, but was too drugged to really remember.

His head was clearing up now.

“Who did this to me?”

Geoff jumped. “How are you feeling?” He went to Ryan.

“Who?”

“I already told you,” – Geoff brushed the man’s cheek, – “it was the Cricket. Ray killed him before he could take another shot at you.”

“Motherfucker… I was just about to get rid of him…”

“How are you feeling?”

“Everything’s… numb.”

“Good.”

“How the fuck did he get anywhere near the office unnoticed?”

“He knew exactly where the camera was and where you would be. Someone tipped him off.”

“Someone?”

“Someone dead.”

“Where are we?”

“In our bedroom, buddy.” Geoff pointed at the big bed next to the one they brought in for Ryan.

“Questionable redecorating.” Ryan looked at all the medical equipment surrounding him and got a terrible sinking feeling. “How bad is it?”

“Not too bad… You got lucky. You’ll be fine, it’ll just take some time.”

“How much time?”

“About ten weeks till you can start physical therapy. And then five more.”

“Four month. Four. Month.” Ryan pressed his lips together.

“You’ll fully recover.”

“Did you send Gav away?”

“I didn’t.”

“Get him out of here right fucking now.”

“He doesn’t want to go.”

“Geoff!”

“No! He’s staying.”

Ryan’s lips turned white.

“Then me.”

“Ry, you’re safer here.”

“That’s not the point!”

“Yes it is! It is! When will you fucking get that??”

“You must consider the risk.”

“I am considering the risk! You know what else I’m doing? Sharing it with you, keeping you from killing yourself!” Geoff laced their fingers together. “I have money, you have money, but hired guns won’t do and you know it. There’s a limited amount of people we can trust. Not enough to protect you if you’re separated from us. And letting you go without protection now would be signing your death sentence.”

Ryan turned away.

“Are you still loopy?”

“No.”

“Then hear me out. I’ve anticipated this conversation. And you know what my first instinct was? To make you stay here by any means. To tell the crew not to follow your orders. To tell them you mustn’t leave this house, even for a medical emergency. To cut all your communications.” Geoff stood up, took Ryan’s phone from the desk and tossed it on the bed. “I did none of that. You can leave if you want to. I’m just… begging you to stay.”

“ _If one of us dies, the others won’t be alone_. I’ve been comforting myself with that thought, as I’m sure you have. It’s bullshit, though. If one of us dies, everything will fall apart. When we got together, we only raised the stakes.”

“Think about what would happen to Gavin if you got killed. Think about what would happen to me.” Tears were flowing down Geoff’s face.

Ryan saw Geoff cry before, more than once, actually. He couldn’t handle sappy movies and that was kind of funny. But this wasn’t. Ryan stayed silent for a while, feeling conflicted, and then gave in and said, “I heard you. I’m not going anywhere.”

Geoff climbed on the bed and put his head on Ryan’s chest. In half an hour or so, Ryan fell asleep. Geoff went to take a piss. When he got back, he took a sim card out of his pocket and put it in Ryan’s phone.

***

Jack and Ryan talked for three hours. First, Jack discussed their plan of operation with the man. Then Ryan told Jack about all the assets of his that could be useful. Apparently, one out of five shady warehouses in the state was owned by either Geoff or Ryan. Ryan’s weak voice gave Jack the impression that he was an attorney taking down a will. It felt odd and intrusive.

“I need you to memorize two letters and nineteen digits.”

“Ry, we don’t need your money.”

“I was going to do this anyway.”

Jack nodded and concentrated on listening. When he heard it enough times, he went downstairs and started cooking.

Then he went back up and sat next to Ryan.

“What’s for dinner?”

“Um, leftovers?”

“I thought I smelled something.”

“That wasn’t really edible. I couldn’t come up with twenty one good ingredients on the fly.”

“Oh… interesting mnemonic technique.”

“What’s yours?”

“Songs. I use alphabet numbers for letters, so it’s all figures. Then I count the beats and memorize the words closest to the significant ones.”

“What’s the song for this account?”

“It’s, actually, The Safety Dance.”

“Ha! So when you were listening to Flagpole Sitta, you were remembering?”

“Yes.”

Jack started laughing. “It was so weird…”

Ryan chuckled a little.

“Why do you choose songs like that?”

“Cause of the titles.”

“Flagpole Sitta is suddenly not funny anymore.”

Ryan shrugged.

“So, did you tell me all you wanted to?”

“There’s one more thing. I want to move to my bedroom.”

Jack was disheartened. “Okay, sure.”

***

Gavin was telling Ryan about his day, as he did yesterday and the day before.

Ryan found it a little annoying, but cute. So he played along. _Enjoy it while it lasts_. The thought made the rest of the conversation insufferable.

When Gavin got into describing the show he was watching, Ryan interrupted him.

“Gav...”

“Wha?”

 “Stop.”

***

Michael barged in, holding a tray. “Food’s here!” He saw Ryan leaning on his shoulder, half-turned to the side, with his fist squeezing the pillow.

Ryan looked up. “Knock.”

Michael put the tray on the table and rushed to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.  Is it done?”

Michael sat in the chair by the bed. “He’s already left the place when we got there. It won’t do him any good, Gavin’s tracking his car.”

“And you thought it was the perfect time to relax?”

Michael frowned. “I’m the only one back."

“Is it your shift?”

“Yes, Ryan, it is my shift. There were many volunteers, but I won. Not as many as there used to be, though. So, keep up the good work.”

“Go away.”

“There you go. Please, just like that.”

“Get the fuck out, Michael!”

Michael stood up, moved the tray to the chair, so Ryan could reach it, and left.

***

Geoff had an actual elevator installed in a two store house before they moved there. Michael said that he was asking for trouble.

Now Ray was pushing Ryan’s wheelchair in it.

He got the man to his room, put him in the bed and sat down.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Don’t start this. You know I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“You know who you should not be leaving alone? Gavin.”

“He’s okay.”

“So am I. I can take a shit by myself now.”

“Ry…”

“I’m serious, go. It’s bad enough that I’m laying here, useless, we can’t afford to have you rendered useless by association.”

“We can.”

“Go! I’m fine!”

“Are you? You were told that your legs would heal, but you are angry and bitter, like you don’t believe it…”

Ryan’s eyes watered. “You are all out there, dealing with my past, and I can’t even help. And it hurts. It literally hurts. All the time.”

“Take your fucking painkillers, Ry. Please.”

“I won’t be able to give you information…”

“You’ve already told us all you knew about the guys. I’m hooking you up to the dropper.”

Ryan had no energy left to argue.

***

**Michael: Take a break, I got us food.**

**Gavin: I know.**

**Michael: That’s just creepy.**

When Gavin got out of the office, Michael handed him a paper bag and started moving towards their usual spot on the roof of a building nearby.

Gavin stopped him. “I don’t want to go there.”

“It’s a big roof.”

Gavin recalled the image of a shaken Ray sitting there next to a corpse. “I found another place for us.”

He led Michael to a bench he noticed on camera. On two cameras, really. They added quite a few more.

“So, how have you been?” Gavin took a bite of his burrito.

“You mean since you saw me at home four hours ago?”

“Yup.”

“I’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on. I fell asleep with you and Ray and I woke up alone.”

“Ray was still there when I left.”

“Okay, we’ll deal with him later. What’s up with you?”

“I was at Ry’s.”

“He let you in?” Michael perked up and turned to him in surprise.

Gavin shook his head.

“Oh.”

“I’m literally a creep now. I creep in people’s rooms at night and watch them sleep.”

Michael scoffed.

“It’s kind of my room too, you know? I spent more time there than I did in my own bedroom. My stuff’s there…”

“He’d let you get it.”

“I don’t want to get it.”

“You just said that you do!”

“Eh. You know what I meant.”

Michael shoved the rest of the food in his mouth.

“You are an aggressive chewer.”

Michael gave him a look. He slowed down, though. Then he swallowed and said, “Is that how it’s going to be from now on? Jack is the only fucking one acting normally.”

“It’s only been two weeks.”

“Feels like a hell of a lot longer.”

***

Killing off Ryan’s enemies got increasingly more difficult. They tried to keep their operation a secret, but the news got out, and the message was as clear as it could be – _the mad mercenary is with Geoff Ramsey now._ People were expecting them, people were actively going after them. The office and the house were impenetrable, but they did the complicated jobs themselves and that didn’t always go as planned. During one of the jobs, the surveillance van was attacked, Dan got knocked out and the desperate target guy grabbed Gavin and broke his nose on the keyboard. He was carrying the man to his car when Ray shot him in the head.

Gavin didn’t want Ryan to see his fucked up face, so he stayed at the office for a few days. He kept himself together, but he couldn’t get much sleep there and went home. To wake up to Ryan, who wheeled his way into the room. Gavin still looked like a panda with his huge black-eyes.

***

Ray spent most of his time at home with Ryan, enjoying the feeling of the man slowly growing to hate him.

“Jesus, Ray, leave me be. Hire a fucking nurse. You shouldn’t be here, you are the best we have.”

“You mean second best?”

“No, I mean best! Look at me! Do I seem threatening to you?”

“I bet you could take a couple guys out, even from a wheelchair.”

Ryan hit the back of the chair with his elbow. “How long am I going to be in this thing???”

“You are recovering sooner than expected.” That was a lie. Actually, Ryan was recovering slower than Miles said he would. Ray thought that saying that could make him less stressed.

“When I get out of it…” Ryan took a sharp breath.

“Ry, stop.”

“You’ll see…” Ryan was choking. “You’ll… fucking…. see…”

“Look at me. Count with me. Ten. Nine. Eight…”

Ryan followed Ray’s instructions for a moment, but then shook his head and yelled. “Shut up! I’m fine!" He was still breathing too fast.

Ray kept counting. Ryan went into an attack, refusing to listen to Ray. He lost consciousness and fell in like a house of cards, dropping his head on his knees.

***

Geoff put all of his energy into managing the operation. He lived at the office now. When he needed to consult with Ryan, he did it through Jack.

He got out of the shower and ran into Jack, who was holding the towel for him. “Good morning”, the man said.

“Did you get my clothes?” Geoff started drying himself up.

Jack pointed at the bench.

Geoff grabbed fresh underwear.

“Ryan asked about you.”

“How is he?”

“Probably thinking you’re in a coma. You’ve been avoiding him for weeks.”

“You told him I’m busy?”

“Yeah.”

Geoff was struggling to put a T-shirt on his damp skin. Jack helped him.

“You can’t look at him, can you?”

“I really fucking can’t.”

“Is it the wheelchair?”

Geoff bit the inside of his cheek.

“Just remind yourself it’s temporary. Miles says it definitely is.”

“…I’ve heard he’s not been in the best of moods.”

“Well, no shit. But we can’t put it all on Ray.”

***

That was the most miserable month of Ray’s whole life. He clung to his ability to make light of any situation and yet, each day drained his inner resources. He felt guilty when Ryan freaked out on him and he felt even worse when Ryan apologized. He watched anger build up in the man and, frankly, it scared him.

He knew that his persistence was a clue. Sometimes it seemed like Ryan knew and was just trying to decide what to do with this knowledge. Geoff kept telling him that everything was well, that even if Ryan did find out, he would forgive them as long as they all were still alive by the end of the cleanup. But Geoff wasn’t there to witness Ryan’s misery.

Michael didn’t hesitate to call Ryan an asshole and tell Ray to leave him alone until he comes to his senses. Gavin said that Ray was a better man than he was and tried to distance himself from the situation. Jack was as supportive and understanding as always, but it didn’t help, since Ray knew he would’ve never approved of their plan. He found some comfort in Geoff, though the man’s lack of guilt made him feel disconnected. He couldn’t figure out if Geoff felt better than he did because he was in deep denial or because he was a fucking sociopath.

Then they’ve reached a point where all of the jobs were complicated, and Ray got back in the field full-time, paired with Dan now.

***

Ryan spent his time browsing through documents and camera footage. He used to have read-only access to the surveillance system, but when he got a little better, he asked Gavin to teach him basic commands and grant more rights to his account. Sometimes he managed to be helpful. He developed new appreciation for Gavin’s talent.

Once again, he was trying to make use of his sleepless night by staring at the laptop screen, consuming information. He heard the door open and turned to it, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He didn’t have many visitors these days. He saw a dark figure stumble into the room and drop on the bed next to him. “Geoff?”

Geof leaned in for a kiss. He smelled like whiskey.

“You are drunk.”

Geoff took Ryan’s glasses off and made a quick move to put them on the table. He hit the edge of the table with his thumb and fell on Ryan’s chest.

“Really drunk.” Ryan grabbed his glasses and moved them out of Geoff’s reach.

“Hi.” Geoff pushed himself to sit up. He put both hands on Ryan’s face and tried to kiss him again.

Ryan stayed still.

“Please, Ry, please…”

Ryan frowned, but opened his mouth to Geoff’s next attempt.

He quickly lost himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he went this long without jerking off.

Geoff’s hand wrapped around his dick.

He tried to push into Geoff’s hand, but it really hurt his thighs. He tried to stay still, but all he wanted to do was make the motion.

He pulled Geoff’s hand away, breathing heavily.

“Why?”

“I want to fuck into your hand, but I can’t. It’s even more frustrating.”

Geoff carefully readjusted Ryan’s sweat pants. “Okay.” He removed the pillows that kept Ryan sitting up and turned to his back, extending an arm for Ryan to lay on.

An almost forgotten feeling surfaced in Ryan’s head. _Protected_. It was weird then and it was even more weird now.

“I would do anything for you, you know? Anything.  Just stay with me.” Geoff drifted into a blackout.


End file.
